Tuesday, September 04, 2001

A world draft will impact the signing bonuses of Americans as well. It will not help “small market teams” who don’t have enough money to increase their scouting budgets or pay top dollars for top picks.

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This Guzman kid from the Dominican, if he's supposed to be the next AROD, would be noticed. One of the teams drafting in the first 5 slots would take him. He would not likely have become a Dodger.

Teams with poorer records would get first crack at the best international talent, if they don't take it that's their decision. Instead of taking a chance on JD Drew, maybe the Phillies could have offered less money to a Domincan kid.

Of course a world-wide draft would help the weaker teams. Some teams don't make an effort to scout some regions because they know they'll likely be outbid by the big clubs like the Yankees, Braves and Dodgers - who are everywhere.

That would change in an instant.

The most crucial point was the kids coming out of the Dominican and Venezuela don't have much leverage.

There's no question that there will be significant downward pressure of the signing bonuses for US draft picks because some of those high picks will be international players.

So, Jim, this development is good news indeed for the cash poor and the win-starved.

I am entirely in favor of a worldwide draft. It works in the NBA. It works in the NFL. It'll work fine in baseball. (Yes, I know, baseball has a much larger draft.)

What is weird to learn, though, was this paragraph:

"Baseball currently is only afforded a certain number of visas by the United States government for foreign players -- it comes out to about 32 or so per team -- and if that number is not expanded, then the worldwide draft will not make baseball more diverse than it already is."

Immigrants are one of the main reasons the United States has the best economy in the world. They are, on the whole, incredibly hard working, driven, vibrant people, motivated to make a better life for themselves in America. It's completely assinine to restrict the number of productive foreigners who have skills - such as the baseball draft picks - that can come and work here.

I agree that it was weird reading that thing about the restrictions on visas for foreign players. I wholeheartedly endorse your pro-immigrant stand (my parents came to Canada before I was born).

I wonder if that applies to players who've established themselves as major leaguers (like Pedro Martinez). I suspect that if baseball asks for more visas they will probably get them.

The only reasoning I could remotely understand would be if the US thought that those failed prospects would stick around and scrounge up other work. Even if that's the thinking I still think it's unjustified.

Now I understand why there is a Dominican Summer League - the teams can develop players without having to provide use up a visa on them.